SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
According to the New York Times, the rules narrow the definition of sexual harassment, require survivors to go through more extensive processes to file complaints, and only hold schools responsible for addressing sexual misconduct of their students when it occurs on their campuses. (Photo: Christine Baker/The Patriot-News)
Amid 'Epidemic' of Campus Sexual Assault, Women's Groups Decry Rollback of Protections by 'See No Evil Betsy Devos'
"These new rules further protect abusers in a system that is already rigged in their favor."
Aug 30, 2018
Women rights groups and victim advocates expressed outrage on Thursday following reports that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has plans to weaken federal protections for sexual assault survivors on U.S. campuses--reducing liability for school administrators and increasing protections for accused sexual predators.
The proposed rules, first reported by The New York Times, narrow the definition of sexual harassment to mean "unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to the school's education program or activity."
Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), responded by saying the new rules turn the "government's response to assault, harassment, and rape upside down," and gave the name "See No Evil Betsy DeVos" to the secretary.
"Under the Obama guidelines, schools could rely on the lowest standard of proof, or the 'preponderance of evidence' when deciding whether or not an alleged perpetrator should be punished for sexual misconduct," Van Pelt explained. "But in Betsy DeVos' upside-down land, schools could decide which level of evidence to rely on when investigating misconduct, narrow the definition of sexual harassment, and only be accountable for complaints which are formally filed."
Citing statistics that one in four women are sexually assaulted while attending college, including estimates that 90 percent go unreported, Karin Roland chief campaigns officer for UltraViolet, said that while women face a "national rape epidemic" on U.S. campuses, "Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration care more about protecting perpetrators and sexual abusers over sexual assault survivors. This policy is extremely dangerous and beyond shameful."
The new rules, Roland added, "further protect abusers in a system that is already rigged in their favor. With sexual assaults routinely going unreported, uninvestigated and unpunished, these new rules will only make campuses less safe."
Jess Davidson, survivor and executive director of End Rape on Campus slammed Devos on CNN, saying new rules would encourage further underreporting and victim shaming.
Watch:
Davidson also tweeted, "This new rule would make schools less safe. Fewer survivors will report their assaults and harassment and as a result more survivors will be unable to equally access their Title IX right to education."
In another tweet she said, "The leaked rule requires that assaults must take place on-campus in order for a school to investigate; this would shut out the thousands of survivors who are assaulted off-campus at fraternities, parties, or bars."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Women rights groups and victim advocates expressed outrage on Thursday following reports that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has plans to weaken federal protections for sexual assault survivors on U.S. campuses--reducing liability for school administrators and increasing protections for accused sexual predators.
The proposed rules, first reported by The New York Times, narrow the definition of sexual harassment to mean "unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to the school's education program or activity."
Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), responded by saying the new rules turn the "government's response to assault, harassment, and rape upside down," and gave the name "See No Evil Betsy DeVos" to the secretary.
"Under the Obama guidelines, schools could rely on the lowest standard of proof, or the 'preponderance of evidence' when deciding whether or not an alleged perpetrator should be punished for sexual misconduct," Van Pelt explained. "But in Betsy DeVos' upside-down land, schools could decide which level of evidence to rely on when investigating misconduct, narrow the definition of sexual harassment, and only be accountable for complaints which are formally filed."
Citing statistics that one in four women are sexually assaulted while attending college, including estimates that 90 percent go unreported, Karin Roland chief campaigns officer for UltraViolet, said that while women face a "national rape epidemic" on U.S. campuses, "Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration care more about protecting perpetrators and sexual abusers over sexual assault survivors. This policy is extremely dangerous and beyond shameful."
The new rules, Roland added, "further protect abusers in a system that is already rigged in their favor. With sexual assaults routinely going unreported, uninvestigated and unpunished, these new rules will only make campuses less safe."
Jess Davidson, survivor and executive director of End Rape on Campus slammed Devos on CNN, saying new rules would encourage further underreporting and victim shaming.
Watch:
Davidson also tweeted, "This new rule would make schools less safe. Fewer survivors will report their assaults and harassment and as a result more survivors will be unable to equally access their Title IX right to education."
In another tweet she said, "The leaked rule requires that assaults must take place on-campus in order for a school to investigate; this would shut out the thousands of survivors who are assaulted off-campus at fraternities, parties, or bars."
Women rights groups and victim advocates expressed outrage on Thursday following reports that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has plans to weaken federal protections for sexual assault survivors on U.S. campuses--reducing liability for school administrators and increasing protections for accused sexual predators.
The proposed rules, first reported by The New York Times, narrow the definition of sexual harassment to mean "unwelcome conduct on the basis of sex that is so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it denies a person access to the school's education program or activity."
Toni Van Pelt, president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), responded by saying the new rules turn the "government's response to assault, harassment, and rape upside down," and gave the name "See No Evil Betsy DeVos" to the secretary.
"Under the Obama guidelines, schools could rely on the lowest standard of proof, or the 'preponderance of evidence' when deciding whether or not an alleged perpetrator should be punished for sexual misconduct," Van Pelt explained. "But in Betsy DeVos' upside-down land, schools could decide which level of evidence to rely on when investigating misconduct, narrow the definition of sexual harassment, and only be accountable for complaints which are formally filed."
Citing statistics that one in four women are sexually assaulted while attending college, including estimates that 90 percent go unreported, Karin Roland chief campaigns officer for UltraViolet, said that while women face a "national rape epidemic" on U.S. campuses, "Betsy DeVos and the Trump Administration care more about protecting perpetrators and sexual abusers over sexual assault survivors. This policy is extremely dangerous and beyond shameful."
The new rules, Roland added, "further protect abusers in a system that is already rigged in their favor. With sexual assaults routinely going unreported, uninvestigated and unpunished, these new rules will only make campuses less safe."
Jess Davidson, survivor and executive director of End Rape on Campus slammed Devos on CNN, saying new rules would encourage further underreporting and victim shaming.
Watch:
Davidson also tweeted, "This new rule would make schools less safe. Fewer survivors will report their assaults and harassment and as a result more survivors will be unable to equally access their Title IX right to education."
In another tweet she said, "The leaked rule requires that assaults must take place on-campus in order for a school to investigate; this would shut out the thousands of survivors who are assaulted off-campus at fraternities, parties, or bars."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.